False Fairytale
by Cheria
Summary: Fairytales were only true in fantasies; Hisana knew first-hand the lies of telltales.


Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its contents, Tite Kubo does.

* * *

It was tradition that nobles only marry one another, and leave the peasants to themselves. A bonding between one of nobility and poverty was pure blasphemy, and utterly unacceptable. They did not understand each other.

The nobles viewed the lower families with distaste, for their uncivilized behavior and – in several cases – lack of honor and dignity. They were the epitome of barbarians. That perspective never changed, and only a few with the blood of nobility viewed the people differently. Even then they kept their distance, so as to not disgrace their family names. Just spending some time with the civilians a tad bit too closely could lead to much misleading gossips, and tarnishing the reputation of a noble was hugely looked down upon.

On the other hand, the "trashes" of society were envious creatures. They pined for the authority and wealth the higher ups possessed, the more desperate civilians blinded with greed. Merchants often sold their own daughters off to the lesser nobles whom only searched for the prettiest of the lot. Those with a sliver of conscience frequently spent their time, plotting, looking for ways to climb the ladder of society. And more often than not, the planning went to the pits, and their time with the lack of proper rations wasted away as they died with the bitterest feeling of failure. The remainder with an adequate portion of honor merely tended to their daily lives, paying no attention to the childish dreams and wishes of one day living in luxury.

_Fairytales did not exist here._

There were no dashing Princes that willed for their beautiful Princesses. No divine Mistresses to seek out their humble Suitors. There were no such things in the cruel society known as reality.

Which was why the day Hisana met Byakuya, the rules of both the nobles and peasants were thrown into chaos.

* * *

He was dashing, she could immediately tell. Evidently, he was not a boy, but he was not exactly a fully matured man at the same time. Hisana could tell, however, that he was already taught the traditions of a noble well; his feet moved gracefully, his back kept straight with his shapely chin pointing downwards as he maneuvered with his nose held up high. It was this that told her intuition that the man was a noble, perhaps a high-ranked one at that, rather than the well-kept and extravagant clothing he wore.

She was beautiful, he knew that much. Her flesh was coated almost completely with dirt, and her hair was greasy and tangled – hygiene was not this woman's top priority. It did not matter. Byakuya could easily imagine the girl's appearance if she ever tended to her messy exterior; soft and creamy skin with silky, well-matted hair, the loose strands tucked in neatly behind her ears. The woman's kimono was in poor condition, the unsightly tears and wrinkles evident nearly everywhere, scattered ambiguously.

The meeting wasn't anything special; the two passed each other (or, put more specifically, Byakuya had walked away). Hisana had been too feverish to pursue or call out to the noble. The thought had not even occurred to her. Yet, unwillingly, she later regretted not having even uttered a word.

It was, to say, miraculous how their next meeting had come so quickly. She had moved to the outskirts of Inuzuri, attempting to shield her frail body from the merciless wind that sighed against her already cold skin. Hisana had nearly been driven by desperation to the point of entering another's abode without warning. It would be a reckless and unwise move, but the freezing temperature was cutting off any logical thought in her oxygen-deprived brain. The weather had made it highly impossible to get any amount of suitable sleep to satisfy her fatigued body and mind. This night, she knew, was going to the worst yet.

Truthfully, it should have been, but that night had been the most amazing time of her life in Rukongai. Even though she wasn't awake to see it. The harsh wind had knocked the last bit of consciousness out of her, and luckily, no one had been around to take advantage of her weakness.

In fact, Byakuya had tended to her – something even _he_ had not seen coming.

Contrary to some belief, she had not been immediately taken into his arms. Hisana was given a warm blanket that was suitable for the environment, as well as guided to a spot in Inuzuri that could partially block out the cold. He had left shortly after that.

And she regretted not saying anything again.

The next time she had seen him strutting around the poor district (she had no clue why he even bothered spending his time in such a place), Hisana had mustered up enough courage to pursue him. Her legs ached and wobbled from each step, and she was losing him as he walked away. Desperately, she cried out, her voice cracking and raspy from dehydration and lack of use.

He did not turn at her call. It was, she reasoned, to be expected, considering he had never heard her speak, and he should not be lowering himself any longer to the point of looking eye-to-eye with a poor peasant such as herself. So she missed him, and the disheveled woman could only watch the man walk away in grimace, disappointed in herself for gathering enough courage, but not having the power of initiation to truly grab his attention.

A few weeks passed, and the blanket that kind noble had given her was stolen in due time. She had been expecting it; never the less, Hisana was devastated at the loss. Not only because that source of warmth had been lost, but because he would see how incompetent she was to lose a grand possession for someone of her status so quickly. The man did not rage when he came to discover the dirty woman had lost what he lent out. In Hisana's perspective, he did not seem to care.

Over the months, it became a daily routine; Byakuya brought various supplies that would help that woman survive, even though they did little good and were stolen each and every time in a matter of days. The mere sight of her was pitiful, and he could not vanquish that sympathetic feeling raging within him. He _pitied_ the girl. And the Kuchiki heir had never felt pity for a mere civilian, or anyone else.

One day, he had made eye contact with her. She rarely spoke, and the words were more often than not gasps and sighs – sometimes yawns – randomly generated from her needy mind and body. But one look at her eyes, and he could see everything.

That day, Byakuya took her to his mansion.

* * *

She knew she was imposing. Hisana had been grateful for the extensive care, but it was becoming ridiculous how the man spoiled her so much. When he had picked up her raggedy form and walked away in that same grace despite the unsightly package he held, she had nearly passed out. Her mind was reeling with confusion. She had expected him to maybe move her to a different location for next time they met, which wasn't very often in truth, but instead he had brought her to his home of all places. An enormous and magnificent mansion - Hisana could have sworn her mind had nearly spontaneously combusted from the extraordinary sight.

It wasn't long before she started speaking regularly. She had nearly gotten food poisoning at first from the sudden change in the amount of rations she ate (in which Byakuya solemnly reprimanded the maids for giving her far too much when they knew of her condition), but quickly came to adapt to the new lifestyle.

Surprisingly enough, Hisana was quite the political woman, Byakuya discovered. Despite the place she had resided in for all those forsaken years, she was intelligent and possessed an authoritative air about her. But that atmosphere she carried differed from that of his relatives and immediate family – the presence was far more comfortable and soothing.

To say Hisana had not been shocked at all when the Kuchiki heir had proposed was an understatement. She had been _expecting_ it. She was a rather perceptive woman from having been so wary back at Rukongai, and it wasn't difficult to figure that she had come to care for the man, and he reciprocated the gesture. Initially he had been distant, but the ice wall had crumbled from the time they spent together in that dark, halcyon room. His family, however, was a different story all together.

They rejected her without a thought. The objections were clear and loud, and Hisana hurt to see their outright dislike towards the girl for her status. She would bring shame to the family, they cried, and begged for Byakuya to leave the woman where he had found her. He refused. Ironically, when Hisana was discovered to be a quick learner and easily became a woman of elegance and natural grace the family's opinion on her slightly wavered. And soon enough, several came to accepting her one by one.

It amazed the newly wed to no end how envious the other civilians were towards Hisana. One step back into Inuzuri, and many devious – and some hateful – glares made their way to her direction. She would have been upset, but the reminder that they had never cared for her caused her to shed that moody feeling. Still, the looks left a dark impression deep within her soul. The new Kuchiki member rarely left the house, for the sole reason of not having to look at those haunting faces again.

She came to her senses in due time. Hisana had left the mansion so quickly, Byakuya had not been aware until she had completely left the Kuchiki grounds, which was quite a bit of distance as the family owned many acres of land. In time, the routine was daily. Everyday, she woke up at the break of dawn and left. She would come back for meals, and depart again. She and her husband spent their time together in bed at night, when she was finally settled back at the house. Until a new reason came up to keep her confined, though it included going against her stubborn will.

He had been horrified at how his wife had suddenly plunged into a series of unforgiving illnesses. The diseases attacked her fragile body without mercy, and often times at night she cried. At first the reactions had been violent and loud, limbs flinging around in mid-air as screams of pain emitted from her tired throat. Eventually she silenced herself, only gasping occasionally when the nausea was too strong for her to keep buried in. Her body was like a vegetable, and her hands were deathly pale and clammy.

Needless to say, the woman's silence clawed at the man's sanity. Byakuya, despite having a quiet nature himself, could not stand the sudden loss of speech of his beloved. She was lively woman, and whenever the two held a conversation, she ended up doing most of the talking. Lately, their chats had only lasted a few exchanges of words before she fell into a coughing fit, and the room was then filled with silence. He ached for their regular conversations again, but he knew. Knew that that time would never come. The paleness and weakening condition of Hisana was enough to tell him, she wouldn't even make it through the year.

When Hisana could no longer keep up, she spilled the truth of her frequent departures. She did not beg, that would not be proper. Instead, she asked; asked with all the feelings in her heart that frail body of hers could muster out. The existence of Rukia, her endless search for the girl, and the horrible action she had taken of abandoning her baby sister and only blood family. Byakuya had not responded, merely glanced at her with a blank expression - though she could immediately see through the stoic façade - and she knew that he would continue what she couldn't finish. There was a bit of guilt trip involved on her part, for having to make her lover do what she was too incompetent to go through, but Hisana believed in him, and had faith in Rukia.

And as she drew in her last breath, Hisana closed her eyes, a smile touching her delicate features as she felt her hand go limp in the warm, thick pair of Byakuya's.

_Fairytales were not real, nor will they ever be. She may have been a Princess at one point, maybe, in the eyes of some, but her happy ending had never been there in the first place. It had been a mere trick of the light._


End file.
